A new study has found that giving heifers a little practice time with an automated milking system (AMS) before calving can significantly improve how quickly they adapt during the first few weeks of lactation.
The transition to a robot can be a stressful experience for heifers who must not only learn to become a cow but also figure out how to navigate and use an unfamiliar milking system. Researchers from the University of Guelph recently set out to test whether structured precalving training could smooth the transition for first-lactation cows into robotic milking.
The study involved 30 pregnant Holstein heifers, enrolled about three weeks before their expected calving date. To keep results consistent, the animals were paired according to due date and randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. The control group received no exposure to the AMS before calving, while the training group participated in a four-day familiarization program.
For the training, heifers were brought into the AMS pen approximately two weeks before their actual calving date. Over the four days, they experienced three short training sessions per day. These sessions introduced them to the robot, the feed concentrate available during milking and the mechanical arm and operational noises of the AMS. The goal was to remove as many “first-time” stressors as possible before actual milking began.
Once the heifers calved in individual maternity pens, both groups were moved between three and seven days in milk, to a free-traffic AMS pen. Here, cows could voluntarily visit the milking unit or be fetched if they did not enter within a certain time. A fetch pen, located near the AMS entrance, held cows that needed to be brought in.
For the next 21 days, researchers monitored milking activity, cow behavior and milk production. They recorded the number of visits to the AMS, voluntary milkings, fetch events and time spent in the fetch pen. They also assessed “ease of entry” into the machine, milk letdown and kicking behavior during the first six milkings across the first two days in the AMS.
At the conclusion of the study, it was clear that the heifers who got some practice time in were better prepared for robotic milking. These animals had a significantly better ease-of-entry score and better milk-letdown scores compared with untrained heifers. Trained heifers were also more willing to enter the machine and let their milk flow without hesitation.
Milking frequency saw an increase compared to the untrained animals as well. Over the 21-day period, trained heifers averaged 6.1 total visits to the AMS per day, compared with 5.0 for the control group. When looking at voluntary visits, the trained group averaged 5.6 per day, compared with just 4.2 for untrained heifers. They also had slightly more voluntary milkings, averaging 2.6 per day versus 2.2 for controls.
This higher level of voluntary engagement translated into less time and labor spent fetching cows. Untrained heifers averaged one fetch per day and spent 18.7 minutes per day in the fetch pen. Trained heifers averaged only 0.8 fetches per day and 14.6 minutes in the fetch pen.
Trained heifers also stood out for producing more milk. On average, first-lactation animals in the rehearsed group yielded 72.3 lb. per day during the study, about 4.9 lb. more than the untrained group’s 67.3 lb. Researchers noted that this early advantage can carry through the entire lactation, leading to greater overall productivity and profitability compared to their non-trained counterparts.
Even though heifers without training can still adjust to the AMS, the researchers believe the improved adaptation and performance in the trained group stem from reduced novelty and stress. Getting familiar with the sights, sounds and movements of the machine before calving helped them feel more comfortable when it was time to start milking.
For farms using robotic milking, spending a little time familiarizing heifers with the system before their first milking could make the transition to the AMS smoother and give first-lactation cows a jump-start to their early milk production.
